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15
GOVERNANCE
Corruption impedes economic growth, undermines the rule of law,
and tears down the fabric of society.
The Jamaica Labour Party is committed to transforming our society
by 2030 and believes fundamentally that this can only be achieved
if the rights of the citizens are guaranteed, and corruption tackled
in an uncompromising manner.
We are committed to the establishment of internationally
acceptable standards of good governance. We simply must bring
an end the incidence of institutionalized injustice, abuse of power
and rampant corruption.
Under a Jamaica Labour Party Government:
•
The rights of every citizen will be protected
•
The abuse of power will not be tolerated
•
Officials exercising authority will be held strictly
accountable and rigid sanctions will be imposed on
persons found guilty of the abuse of power;
•
We will operate an efficient and accessible justice and
law enforcement system
Greater Representation for Civil Society & the
Diaspora
The JLP is committed to the reform of the process by which
persons are appointed to the
Senate.Wewill explore the possibility
of including in the Senate three (3) independent representatives.
Leaner Government Operations
The JLP is of the view that there needs to be a reduction in
the number of ministries and a more appropriate allocation of
responsibilities if we are to avoid overlapping and cumbersome
bureaucracy.
We will establish in the Constitution a core of Ministries of
government with a limit on the number of additional Ministries that
can be created.
The completion of the public sector rationalization will impact
the decision as to the core ministries to be established and the
subjects affecting each.
Efficiencies in the Public Sector
The Jamaica Labour Party believes that efficiency in the public
sector should result in lower costs to tax payers, increased
productivity and better customer service.
The JLP government will:
•
Introduce automated business processes to reduce
bureaucracy, strengthen record-keeping and provide
greater accountability
•
Implement a National Identification card system with a
lifetime identification number.This will simplify the process
of official identification for purposes of paying taxes or
obtaining benefits. This will also simplify government’s
processes and reduce costs due to tracking multiple
identification numbers. Opportunities for user fraud will
also be decreased.
Greater Transparency
We will introduce mandatory disclosure of Integrity Reports by the
Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Minister of Finance.
In addition, we will make it mandatory that the appointment to
sensitive posts be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority in each
House of Parliament, thereby requiring consensus between the
government and the Opposition. The posts identified include:
•
Chief Justice
•
President of the Court of Appeal
•
Director of Public Prosecutions
•
Public Defender
•
Contractor General
•
Judicial Services Commission members
•
Police Services Commission members
•
Public Services Commission members
•
Governor of the Bank of Jamaica